This invention relates to computer controlled telephone switching systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and an apparatus for merging a database from one computer controlled switching system with a database from a second computer controlled switching system to create a third database for use with a new switching system the functionality of an old system.
Telephone switching systems in use today are largely computer controlled. These computer control systems require immense databases wherein key information about the system permits a computer to efficiently manage switching system resources.
The telephone network in the United States has become a critical resource in that the telephone network not only carries key economic information but is also essential to public safety agencies. Telephone service providers now routinely design into their systems redundancy whereby one switching system might be tasked with handling the calls of a switching system that has failed.
A problem with merely providing a backup switching system is that such a system will not function unless it is properly programmed. Programming a large telephone switching system to handle the calls of a failed system would require copying thousands, perhaps millions, of records into the replacement system. If a telephone switching system were to fail or be destroyed, bringing even a replacement system back online would still require weeks, perhaps months, of effort to re-program the new system.
Any method or apparatus that would reduce the time necessary to bring a new switching system back online would be an improvement over the prior art. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus by which a database from one telephone switching system can be automatically modified to be made to work in another switching system.